Evanescent
by smaragdbird
Summary: The last battle of Heaven vs. Hell vs. Team Free Will Slash and Het, Character Death


My father told me we was all born of blood and tribulation, and so then too was our great city. But for those of us what lived and died in them furious days, it was like everything we knew was mildly swept away. And no matter what they did to build this city up again... for the rest of time... it would be like no one even knew we was ever here.

Gangs of New York

The last battle of Heaven vs. Hell vs. Earth happened, fittingly, on a Monday morning. Lucifer had called all of his four Horsemen and if Heaven still wanted to win they had to act now. The gates of Hell were opened wide and demons came in flocks to the battlefield.

The army of Earth was ridiculously small compared to the one's of Heaven and Hell. They wanted to use the general confusion during the fight to get close to Lucifer and kill him.

Three humans, three angels and a demon against the forces of Heaven and Hell.

Sunrise loomed near and with it the final battle. All seven of them huddled close around the fire, even Gabriel had nothing to say after he had spent the night poking fun at Anna and Crowley although neither he nor anyone else knew when or how that had happened.

Castiel left after a while and Dean followed him. It wasn't hard since Castiel stood against the dark field and the first yellow and green streaks at the horizon.

'So, this is it then?' Dean asked needlessly because they all knew what it was.

'Yes.' Castiel answered simply.

'Listen' Dean laid a hand on Castiel's shoulder which made the angel turn to him.

'I just wanted to tell you, in case one of us doesn't make, that I-' But Castiel interrupted him:

'Dean, you don't have to feel obliged to tell me anything that I already know.'

'Oh, okay.' Dean grinned: 'Later then.'

'Yes.' Castiel agreed: 'Later.'

Before they headed out into the battle in pairs, everyone said goodbye to each other. Chances were good that even if they won not all of them would make it out alive.

Bobby hugged Sam and Dean and told them gruffly to better watch their backs. Anna and Crowley kissed quite openly in front of everyone, Dean smiled at Castiel and Castiel smiled back and if something happened between Sam and Gabriel then Dean did neither hear nor see anything.

'Hey, Rafe!' Gabriel yelled at his older brother.

'Gabriel.' Raphael said gravely: 'Have you finally decided to join our fight.'

'Nope, but I figured this is my last chance to tell you what a shitty brother you have been. You're an archangel and follow Zachariah' Gabriel laughed at his brother and Raphael attacked him.

'I remember you.' Screamed a female demon and attacked Dean more viciously: 'You want to feel how it is to have your tongue slit into stripes?' Dean froze for a moment and Crowley took care of the demon before he could.

'What did we say about you running into old acquaintances?' He smirked at Dean but it was clear that the fighting was getting to him, too.

'I'm fine.' Dean insisted.

'I know he's here.' Anna assured Bobby when they fought their way through the army of angels and demons. They were looking for Zachariah, with him and Raphael out of the way Gabriel would be able to take control of the armies of Heaven.

They had to find him.

'Sam.' Said Lucifer gently: 'I knew you would come.' He laid his hands on Sam's shoulders and only then acknowledged Castiel's presence:

'It's nice to see you, little brother.'

Lucifer's thumb caressed Sam's cheek and Sam let it happen, even leaned a bit into the display of affection. It was a scene like between lovers reunited after a long separation and maybe it was. Castiel had felt a long time ago that the emotional bond between Sam and Lucifer was stronger than the physical one that normally existed between angel and vessel.

Sam kneeled down at Lucifer's feet and Lucifer affectionately touched Sam's hair:

'Have you finally come to say yes?' He asked and his voice was full of love as he kneeled down next to Sam and kissed him gently.

'I've come to tell you: Go to hell!' Castiel's attack came before Lucifer had time to understand. His vessel burst and his grace, soft and warm and merciless and cold like an icestorm in the summer, laid to waste everything in its immediate vicinity.

'Father' Castiel prayed: 'Father please protect your children, all of them.' He thought of Dean smiling at him before he gave in to the light

'Sam!'

'Dean!' They hugged each other frantically between the charred remains of angels and demons and what was left of their vessels, glad that the other was alive. Gabriel had already told them telepathically that he had taken control over the rest of the Host as he was the highest ranking angel without Michael being able to manifest himself on earth.

Not a word of Bobby or Anna though, but, as Gabriel had told them tersely, they had been separated in battle, much like Dean and Crowley.

'Sam.' Dean let go of his brother: 'Where's-'

An inhuman scream interrupted him. It was a scream out of hell, pain beyond what was impossible to endure on earth.

'Boys...' As happy as they were to see Bobby alive, if not unharmed as he was limping heavily and blood seeped at more than one point through his clothes, the look on his face spoke of more bad news.

Between the corpses of the fallen kneeled Crowley, Anna's lifeless body in his arms, crying, sobbing as if the world had ended.

For him, it had.

The three of them stood around and watched the horrific sight, taken aback but without any idea how to help.

'Dean.' Sam said quietly: 'About Cas.' He looked so incredibly sorry that he didn't need to continue. Dean understood that Castiel had sacrificed his life for them, for the world, for _him, _again and for the last time, it seemed.

Dean didn't know how he felt. The after-shock of it all being over, of still being alive, of Anna and Cas gone...it was too many, too conflicting emotions at once. He felt numb because his brain blocked them and he really didn't want to be there when they finally hit him with their full force.

'I'm so sorry, Dean.' Sam put a hand on Dean's shoulder and accidentally brushed Cas' handprint on his arm. Dean jerked away from the touch but somehow still managed to give Sam a hollow smile:

'It's okay, Sammy. I just...' He trailed off, staring into the distance because he didn't know how to finish that sentence. There was nothing to do. The Apocalypse was over, the angels were gone, Cas was gone. It was just him and Sam and Bobby again. As if nothing had changed

As if nothing had ever happened.


End file.
